Ane Brun - After The Great Storm (2020)

First album of new original material since 2015 from the Norwegian songstress. With eighteen songs united by common themes, Brun's original intention was for a double album, but, as lockdown kicked in, spare time imposed by the pandemic led her to reassess this concept. She decided to seperate the recordings into two collections, distinguished by contrasting moods. 'After the Great Storm', the first release, finds her in questing mode, drawing upon her experiences both in performance and in collaboration, her crystal-clear, affecting voice haunted by electronic and analogue textures. 'How Beauty Holds the Hand of Sorrow' meanwhile will be more familar to those who recall Brun as the emotional, guitar-picking singer-songwriter who emerged at the turn of the century.